The story of the son who got his inheritance earlier than expected

This story is popularly referred to as the story of the wasteful or prodigal son.

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth in wild living.  After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

At some point in our lives, we have all fantasized about having so much money than we can imagine, about winning a lottery, getting a money rain miracle, and living a high-end life. Build a mansion, drive the best cars, and travel around the world.

We fantasize about hitting a jackpot someday, so we don’t have to work for money anymore. The truth is a greater percentage of people who come into sudden wealth go broke within a few years. Some even end up cursing the day they came about such wealth.

I recently heard the true-life story of a man who got into sudden wealth through his late father’s estate. He said to me Lara, I had a stroke the day I saw the number of zeros in my account. He didn’t have the capacity to handle such sudden wealth. Unfortunately, he is still battling with the stroke up till today. He was faced with more money than he was used to dealing with.

Though there is nothing like the emotion of getting an unexpected sum of money. The joy is magnified; unfortunately the greater the amount you get, the greater your stress. In fact, there’s something called “Sudden Wealth Syndrome”. And this stress can lead to things that may ultimately threaten even the good fortune that such wealth was supposed to bring.

According to Susan Bradley, the founder of Sudden Money Institute, “people get used to their own level of wealth. Suddenly they don’t have the same limitations they had before, but many don’t realize they still do have limitations.”

“Most people want to start spending their money right away, and their list of desires is long,” impulsive spending behavior starts almost immediately.

Most of us are used to gradual money-earning an income and building a nest egg over time. It’s a slow and steady process. As our net worth increases over the years, we adapt and slowly become more financially sophisticated.

Then there’s money that comes suddenly. It’s like being on the ground floor of a 50-story building in seconds.

That sudden wealth that pushes you out of your financial comfort zone, yours maybe a few thousand or millions, it is not even about the amount but exactly how it made you feel and your reaction to the amount that determines if it is sudden or not.

The second son in this story had no financial education or capacity to manage his own portion of his father’s estate; as such he ran into problems and could not cope and decided to go back home, probably for more.

I once wrote a topic on the “best time to start is when you are not ready”. You can take your time and read up so you can adopt the strategies.

If you have come into sudden wealth before and would like to share your story, feel free to share it with me. You may save someone’s life.